


The False Shell

by MoonlitPath



Category: Durarara!!
Genre: Established Relationship, Horror, Implied/Referenced Character Death, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-13
Updated: 2020-12-13
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:02:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,753
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28047381
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MoonlitPath/pseuds/MoonlitPath
Summary: It's scary, how many things there are in this world we don't know of.
Relationships: Heiwajima Shizuo/Orihara Izaya
Comments: 2
Kudos: 19





	The False Shell

The Tokyo sunrise showered the city from the horizon, clouds and birds traveling alike to the direction they wished to. Inside the Shinjuku penthouse where the dangerous informant and Ikebukuro’s fortissimo lived together going about their daily lives, they were just waking up to start another day. Their rivalry had taken an interesting turn, much to everybody’s surprise, they now made what one would say is the strongest couple in Japan. Nobody dared defy the legitimacy of their relationship, for they were sure to feel the informant’s wrath in particular, because he had finally had what he wished for since high school, since he had laid his eyes on the blond that had grabbed at his attention with the amount of strength he carried. 

“Morning.” Shizuo mumbled as he entered the kitchen, Izaya had already gotten up a few minutes before, in his hand a hot mug of black coffee he made.

“Good morning.” He replied, a small smile gracing his lips. The taller man was squinting to protect his eyes from the intensity of the sun, arm reaching for the fridge that provided him with his usual glass of milk, hair in disarray but not undermining his handsome features in the least, if anything, Izaya thought he looked very enticing.

“Tom called me for work today.” Shizuo said, sitting down on the couch and watching as Izaya took a seat next to him, his mug placed on the coffee table and leaning back as an arm was circling around his shoulders. 

“How come?” 

“Eh, they located one bastard that owed us money some months ago but he had weaseled out and disappeared.”

“Why didn’t you tell me? I could have found him for you.” Izaya asked, but he had a feeling he already knew the answer he would get from him. 

“I don’t remember his name.” Shizuo shrugged, rubbing his eye with the back of his palm, much like a child. The informant chuckles. They rested in that position for a bit, making small exchanges here and there. Still they relished in the silence that was between them, after all that time they had spent fighting each other, although they still bickered from time to time, which was anticipated taking into account Izaya’s personality. They too were forgotten soon enough. 

Time went by faster than both of them would have liked, but there was nothing they could do when it was a matter of responsibility and Shizuo wore his usual clothing, planting a kiss on Izaya’s lips before exiting the house, leaving him alone to bury himself into work until he would come back. A piece of information that could not be known, since there was nothing to say that they would find the debtor so easily.

  


-

  


His eyes were getting tired, Izaya had not even realized how many hours had passed since he had started working. The sun was still up and blaring, however it was making an incline that suggested it would set in a few hours. Shizuo had yet to come home, and he had not messaged him to keep him updated either. Surely they were done with the job, how much trouble would a puny man be for a human with super strength?

Izaya tried to convince himself he was not getting worried, Shizuo could take care of himself just fine, albeit that unsettling sensation he had tickling his throat and the back of his head said otherwise. 

“I’m getting paranoid.” He said to himself as he pushed his chair away from his desk, shutting off his computer and deciding to turn on the TV to watch a random show. His stomach rumbled with hunger, but he really did not want to eat, at least until Shizuo came back. His phone was in his hand before he could think about it and his fingers were touching the screen with speed.

[Are you coming home?]

The message was sent, he had been staring at it for at least five minutes, no sign that it had been read appeared. Either the other man’s phone had died, or something actually had happened.

He tried not to think about it, he was probably overreacting. 

Placing the phone next to him on the couch, he pulled his knees to his chest to rest his chin on them, despite the small frown that was growing on his lips.

Half an hour had gone by since he had sent the text, Izaya was beginning to feel the tremble in his fingers as he glanced at the text again, a huge sigh escaping him. Shizuo had read it, but he had not responded. 

The lock to the front door fumbled a little, it had Izaya jumping from his position on the couch and flying to stand in front of it as he took in the sight of Shizuo walking in the house casually, taking off his shoes and peering at him with an awkward smile, an apologetic look in his eyes. 

“Sorry, bastard was being way too difficult.” He strolled over to him, opening his arms as Izaya took a step to push his face into his chest, breathing in the scent of faint cigarettes. Relief took over his being as he let himself be encased in the familiar embrace.

“You could’ve at least gotten me some fatty tuna on your way back, I thought you were in danger. You didn’t even text me back!” Izaya grumbled, face scrunching in annoyance. He had spent so long anxiously waiting for nothing.

“I was close to home anyways. Let’s order something, okay?” Shizuo had him convinced, Izaya reluctantly let his grip loose to head to find the number for some take out, while the other had gone to change into something more comfortable. Not bothering to ask him what he wanted- the blond usually ordered only one thing from the specific place he was calling to, if he desired something else he would have told him in advance- he patiently held the phone to his ear and peaked from his place in kitchen to Shizuo, who had come down and was looking around, as if thinking of what to do next.

Clad in an old T-shirt and a pair of sweatpants, he sat on the couch and snapped his head to Izaya so fast, it made him startle. 

_What the hell-_

“What, scared ya?” Shizuo grinned, playing it off as he relaxed into the cushions. The informant silently scolded himself as he breathed slowly through his nose, perhaps he was still concerned, but his mind told him that he did not need to anymore, his partner had come home without a scratch. 

Taking out the required money for the food, he left it on his desk for easier access before making himself comfortable on the couch by Shizuo, who had not taken his eyes off of him. 

“Um…” He started, glancing at his boyfriend’s face, his hands together in his lap. “What did the guy do?” His palms were getting sweaty and he swallowed a bit roughly, suddenly feeling nervous, the way his body was acting threw him off. Not understanding the reason behind his strange behavior, Shizuo tentatively brushed his hand between his shoulder blades, eyebrows furrowing.

“Are you sick?” He inquired, a bit slowly, maybe too softly for Izaya’s liking. Not that Shizuo was treating him badly with no excuse, however the hair that stood on the back of his neck forced him to shake his head quickly, denying the implications of the question. 

“I must still be a bit stiff from earlier, I’m fine.” He finally said, tilting his head with a playful smirk, one that did not reach his eyes even if he wanted to. He was assured Shizuo knew it was fake and he would scoff and call him a damn flea. 

The blond was staring at him, nodding. 

“If you say so.” He still seemed suspicious of the change in attitude, but he leaned back on the couch and sighed as he rubbed his temples soothingly, as if he was sporting a headache. “I’m tired.” 

“You should go to sleep then.” Izaya replied, shifting his position to face him a bit better, feeling a bit ashamed, not that he would admit it. The man was exhausted from being out for so many hours, it has not been the first time Shizuo had expressed the same complain and then later that day fell in deep sleep even an earthquake could not wake him. 

“After we eat, flea.” He gave him a look. “You’re gonna throw my food away otherwise.”

Izaya lightly chuckles, settling down finally and paying attention to the television that had been left open the whole time, volume low enough so as not to be distracting. 

As this short amount of time went by and their order had arrived, Izaya laid the food out on the coffee table, pulling his legs underneath himself. Shizuo did not even wait for the meal to get a little colder, even though it was steaming, scarfing it down with just a hint of discomfort.

“Ow.”

Izaya deadpanned, though he was not surprised. He kept watching the man as he picked up his own plate, careful not to burn his mouth. Vision focusing on his jawline, where it tensed with every bite, the informant noticed with his observations that he was chewing more thoroughly than he did before. He must have been more tired than he looked. Attempting not to dwell on it, he turned his attention to his own food wholly; and though the show kept going, his ears had blocked all sounds and his gaze was blind, spirit absent from the present. 

Buzzing, his phone pinged with a notification of a message, Izaya saw that it was Shinra, which made him wonder why he had texted him out of the blue, but he made a note to check it in a bit, if it was an emergency he would have called.

Sensing a pair of eyes on him again, Izaya took notice of Shizuo peering at him out of the corner of his eye, as if searching for something.

“Am I so pretty today?” Izaya said, calling him out on his staring, the man was back to looking at the television without saying anything. He took advantage of the angle to examine his hair on the back of his head, seeing as he was slumping forward. It looked rough, like always, sticking out weirdly in different directions; but something else caught his eye, where his hair ended on his nape a tiny red line he barely discerned through the strands. His hand moved on its own accord, brushing it away to take a better look at it. As his fingertips touched his hair, which was unexplainably soft, Shizuo moved at lightning speed, grabbing his wrist and pulling him so close, their noses were almost touching. Normally, Izaya would not mind the contact a bit, however the whole interaction was so off he just wanted to wretch his hand away and- do something, anything that could explain what was happening in the confines of his own mind.

It was instinctive, he realized; he felt watched and as those brown eyes that did not seem so warm anymore bore into his, the hairs on his arms rose, his spine shivering with an emotion he had never felt before within Shizuo’s presence. 

It did not take more than a few seconds to know he was scared. The blond released him immediately, probably sensing it, a small grin growing on his lips, fake as ever, anybody could be fooled; but right at that moment Izaya’s whole body was overworking to point out all the things that were wrong. 

“I thought you were gonna stab me or something.” Shizuo said, rubbing the place that he had reached to touch before. 

“Ah,” Izaya stuttered slightly, dazed. “no, I just wanted to feel your hair.” He lied, leaning forward to look at the device on the table. 

[I need to talk to you, are you alone?] 

Izaya tried not to look to odd with his movements as he got up and pocketed his phone. The blond was asking questions immediately.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing Shizu-chan, I need to use the bathroom is all. Is that a problem?” He feigned his teasing tone to the max, as a warning to back off, in a sense maybe a bit too defensive. All that mattered is that his stomach was twisting uneasily and his lungs could not hold onto much oxygen at the time, as if something painful had happened. 

“No.” The blond said.

When he locked the door behind him and sat on the closed lid of the toilet seat; something he had not done before, he pulled out his phone to speak to Shinra.

[I’m alone now, what is it?] 

Seconds passed before he got an answer, putting the notifications on mute just in case. 

[Is Shizuo okay? Celty said he was acting very strange.] 

Izaya paused, his own thoughts coming back to him. He hastily replied. Not hiding the truth or twisting it. 

[He had been gone for a lot of hours at work and he hadn’t contacted me at all. I found it a bit weird too. He calls when something in the schedule changes.] Hesitating to add more, he waited.

[Celty also said he was avoiding her.] 

Shizuo never did that, he was always eager to speak with Celty, they were nothing less than best friends and for a person to act like that towards a relationship that in a way defined them? It made Izaya increasingly uncomfortable. He felt trapped every second that went by. On any other instance, he would keep it to himself and deal with a problem himself, but right now his own instinct was pressuring him to type the next message, fingers trembling, heart in his throat. 

[I’m scared.]

[Please send Celty.] 

[Shinra. i need to get out of here.]

His chest constricted, he staggered a breath, his eyes burned as liquid blurred his vision.

[please send her to get me] 

He felt despair; that of loss, coming down on him and crushing him. 

[that’s not my shizuo]

Shizuo was not here, he did not know his true whereabouts. This was just a shell that was tricking him into believing it was the truth. 

Shinra answered.

[She’s coming, okay? Try to stay calm, where is he now?] 

[its not a he]

[Where is it, Izaya?]

It was terrifying, his whole frame was shaking uncontrollably. He felt like he was falling apart. Holding the phone close to his chest, he silently unlocked the door with his heart in his throat; he expected it to stand behind the door waiting for him. A short lived relief flowed through him.

It was eerily quiet, the sound of the TV had ceased, a pin could drop and it would probably be too loud. The truth was crashing down. He did not know where it was. A few tears that had escaped from his lashes dropped on his phone and the floor in front of him. 

It was unbelievable, how much Shizuo had impacted him. 

Lightly pushing the door closed with a feather’s touch to lock it again, he heard it. 

The sound of breathing on the other side. 

The barrier gave in.

The thing of nightmares, a fairytale told grimly around the bonfires of a night outing, inducing laughter from the fear instilled inside them. His blood had turned cold in his veins, numbing his limbs from trying to escape, how horrific must something be, to disguise itself with ones weakness. To distort reality that was established safely in his life, to steal it away with no remorse whatsoever. The universe was feeding off of his misery, no consideration for sentient beings. This was above humanity, of another realm- he was nothing, when this thing looked him in the eye and gave away wisdom no one could live to spread. 

He would cease to exist, another unsolved disappearance to add to the mountain of mysteries, all the knowledge gone with it. 

Maybe it was merciful; that his mind does not know of his becoming, maybe it was what would torture him for the rest of eternity, where he will sleep in darkness, devoured by the monster that no human mind should ever be aware of. 

It should be left well alone, as all the other things humanity cannot risk discovering, for they could not slumber with one eye open.

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by a comment on reddit.  
> "Humans are scared of things that mimic them too perfectly, the theory is that we developed this because there was a super predator of some sort that would mimic us and kill us. But we never knew what happened to it."


End file.
